What do you do for a week’s stay? The valet service seems super expensive. Even third party carry-out services have a $60 min. Have considered shipping extra clothes to my hotel as that would be cheaper than checking additional luggage OR doing laundry. Other option are the self-service machines, but I’ve read they can be busy. What do you all do?
Most trips we take, we have laundry access (condo rental with washer/dryer). BUT, for those trips where we don’t have that, we always bring at least one change of clothes per day. Since we drive, it isn’t a problem, though. Can’t imagine what we’d do if we flew.
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Yeah, we are flying so trying to decide whether to bring clothes for all 8 days or figure out laundry, or ship some. Then again, maybe my packing cubes will help me bring lots of clothes w/o a problem, but still then that means that clothes from day 1 are festering for a week…
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I tend to bring enough for the full week. Though I know that there are those within this forum who not only claim to launder regularly while in the World, have links to sites that tell them which machines are available within the Disney Resorts.
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Yeah, I don’t want to have to worry about doing laundry is another reason to just bring lots. Maybe I’ll wash them in the sink and hang dry on balcony just so that they don’t sit in sweat for a week…?
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Just bring along one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Columbus-Washboard-2072-Family-Size/dp/B0000CBILJ
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I mean, you could.
I tend to travel for runDisney race weeks… so leaving sweaty stuff to dry and then laundering when I get home is pretty much standard for me.
On the other hand, I believe @OBNurseNH is our resident laundry expert. I bet she has some tips.
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I always do wash halfway through our week. That’s the same time as we plan a resort-based day. It is a sleep-in for most of my family, and I’m usually awake earliest. Knowing this, I get everything together before bed in the collapsible laundry bin that we bring along, along with detergent pods and dryer sheets. When I’m up to go get my coffee, I go by the laundry first - I’ve never had a problem getting a machine in the morning at AK, Pop, or Poly - and I pop my stuff in. Note that you’ll need a credit or debit card to activate the machines. I go get my coffee and have a stroll around my resort. By the time I’m done, the wash is ready to move to the dryer. Typically, my family is also beginning to awaken, so I’m able to bring back the hang-dry items after making the switch. An hour later, I go get the stuff from the dryer. I’ve also done this pattern on a park day (albeit not a RD day) and get the stuff in the dryer while everyone is getting ready; when they’re done, so is the wash.
I also tend to do this on depart day - or if necessary, the day before depart. It’s really nice getting home with only clean laundry.
Here is a blog post I wrote not too long ago about laundry at WDW:
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For a week I can easily pack enough to have clean clothes all week.
One kind of embarrassing travel trick is to bring worn out underwear and throw it out at the end of the day. That makes a little extra room in my going-home suitcase. (I know this is not the most delightful thing for Mousekeeping, but I do always tip, and make sure it’s neatly bundled into the rubbish can.)
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I have a few lightweight linen tops that I handwash anyways, they dry quickly in bathroom, so there’s that.
For rest of fam we do a small load, laundry is near pool & near game room at our resort, so it works out, toward latter end of trip.
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Are you traveling in peak summer sun and heat? Is your family large? Does your airline charge for luggage?
If yes to any of these questions, these are good reasons to consider laundering while at WDW, or at least know what’s available just in case. Wardrobe emergencies happen!
Not looking for details, but throwing out underwear is not, for me, going to create a whole lot of space… LOL
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Cute article! Haha, the Fifth Mountain. Good to know that the machines are easy to use…only issue for us–finding time to do it! But sounds like not too much of a hassle.
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They are never closed, to my knowledge, so even a late night load is possible.
Glad you found the article helpful and amusing 
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Oh, I didn’t mean to sound judgmental about needing to do laundry! I’m sorry if I did. Just that I couldn’t contribute much other than the underpants trick.
On a recent longer stay when I was going to need to do laundry mid-trip, I had a split stay with the second week in a condo that had in-unit laundry. That was the BEST EVER but I don’t know what the options are for something like that at WDW.
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This is my situation for our upcoming - and likely most future - stays. I am VERY excited about this - really won’t get any easier! 
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This was one of the big appeals for me when considering DVC, the ability to do laundry and to cook our own meals. With DVC you get a kitchen and laundry. With the studios its a mini kitchen and access to communal machines and with the villas it is a full sized kitchen and a full size washer and dryer in the unit.
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I would never, ever do laundry while on vacation. Even when going two weeks in Europe, I bring enough clothes everyday. I would rather pay $25 to bring a suitcase than be bothered with laundry.
Also, I don’t actually put most of my clothes in the dryer, so drying them at the hotel is not very convenient.
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You’ll die at this - I bring a collapsible drying rack. Which honestly is helpful for drying bathing suits too because some hotel showers don’t even have that pull-cord drying line!
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Since I am going when it is HOT - I need to bring 2 outfits for each day.
It is summer, so that at least means they are not bulky LOL
If I don’t have enough room then I will resign myself to at least a load of laundry.
I am staying at POP so I know that I can do laundry there if I need to.
You can even get a text when it is done
I am planning an afternoon break most days and have no firm plans after the morning on the 4th day of my trip, so that is my window of opportunity.
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I love it! But at this point, I think I would rather bring more clothes than a collapsible drying rack.
I travel every week, so i have enough clothes (including underwear) to go three weeks without doing laundry.
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